Easton harnessing solar power to pay bills and more

Wednesday

Apr 30, 2014 at 7:00 PM

Easton's old landfill generating new source of cash

Staff Reporter

EASTON – Town Administrator David Colton is looking forward to writing fewer checks to National Grid.

That may happen soon, now that a former landfill at 114 Prospect St., has been transformed into a clean energy farm. A ribbon-cutting is scheduled for today to celebrate the 1.9-megawatt solar installation.

“It’s a great thing for the town,” Colton said. “We hope to take $200,000 off the town’s electric bill. That will certainly help us in a tight budget year.” That money saved will let the town re-invest in Easton.

“Every time we spend money on the electric bill, that money leaves town and it goes out of our pockets to National Grid,” said Colton. ‘It’s of no economic benefit to the taxpayers. If we can reduce the amount of money out the door and use that money for jobs, roads, libraries and education then that is a benefit to the town rather than a drain on the town’s economy.”

Easton leased the eight acres of land to Borrego Solar Systems, which in turn covered the cost of the project and installed the panels. The town then buys the power generated at a discount. With the revenue, energy credits and annual $33,000 lease, the town expects to see savings of roughly $225,000 a year.

Borrego Solar and the town have a 20-year contract that is expected to save Easton nearly $4.5 million in that time. The installation will produce the amount of electricity consumed by 235 homes in a year.

The solar panels have been up and running since November. “It’s already generated about $60,000 over the winter for us,” Colton said. “This new project is a a great thing because of the savings we’ll generate out of that revenue,” said Easton Board of Selectmen Chair Colleen Corona.

Two other solar facilities already exist in Easton. One is owned by the town on property near the Water Department and gives credits toward the town’s water bill. The other solar facility, which began operating in January, is at Stonehill College. The college’s contract with Marina Energy is expected to save the school more than $185,000 a year."

Easton is a designated Green Community and has made the commitment of reducing energy consumption by 20 percent by the end of 2014.

With the assistance of the Green Communities Grant Project, Easton has saved roughly $600,000 since 2010. The savings have come with improvements to lighting, heating and insulation in municipal buildings and schools.

Richard Sullivan is the secretary of the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. “Easton has been a model green community,” Sullivan said. Nearly half of the cities and towns, 123 in the state, have decided to become green communities, he said. “We’ve seen real results in energy and efficiencies with this program.”

Borrego Solar has also worked on projects in other towns in Massachusetts and is responsible for installing more than 30 percent of the landfill solar capacity operating in the state.

According to the recently released U.S. Solar Market Insight report, Massachusetts installed 237 megawatts of solar photovoltaic (PV) in 2013, doubling its cumulative capacity.

That puts Massachusetts in fourth place in the United States, ranking behind only California, Arizona and North Carolina.

According to Dr. Jeff Williams, who teaches physics at Bridgewater State University, Easton’s newest solar farm is a fairly sure bet.

“It will still generate energy on a cloudy day,” he said. Unlike the wind, which is incredibly variable, scientists have good data on where the sun is. Which is why the panels are in a fixed position, to capture the most solar energy possible, he said. “The energy from the sunlight can make the solar panel act like a battery without the chemicals in there.”

Jennifer Bray may be reached at jbray@enterprisenews.com or follow her on Twitter @JenniferB_ENT.